Washington, D.C. – Sales of light-duty vehicles in the U.S. dropped 31.9 per cent in October 2008 when compared to October 2007, according to a report by the Green Car Congress. Total sales of passenger cars and light trucks were 838,156 units.

Passenger car sales dropped by 23.6 per cent to 428,089 units, while trucks fell 38.9 per cent, to 410,067 units. Cars once again edged back past trucks, to 51.1 per cent of new vehicle sales during the month. October saw a 16 per cent drop in the average price of all grades of gasoline in the United States.

Of the automakers mentioned in the report, General Motors dropped 45 per cent, to 170,585 units; Toyota was down 23 per cent, to 152,101 vehicles; Ford, including Volvo, dropped 30.2 per cent, to 129,121 units; Chrysler dropped 35 per cent, to 94,530 units; Honda declined 24.6 per cent, to 85,864 units; and Nissan dropped 33 per cent, to 56,945 units.

Notable exceptions to the decline were the Chevrolet Malibu, up 129 per cent; the all-new Pontiac Vibe, up 6 per cent; Saab, up 7.4 per cent overall; the Toyota Corolla, up 6 per cent; the redesigned Honda Fit, up 33 per cent; the Nissan Versa, up 2.7 per cent; the Nissan Maxima, up 33 per cent; and the Nissan Rogue, with a 10.8 per cent increase.